Title:  In the Light of a New Day (1 of 1)
By:  Tess
E-mail:  tnv099@aol.com
Distribution:  Please ask first
Spoilers:  Big whopping ones for Existence
Rating:  PG
Content:  S, A, R
Keywords:  MSR
Disclaimer:  These characters are the sole property of 
1013 and Fox.
Summary:  In the light of a new day, he wrapped his 
arms around them both and watched his family sleep.


In the Light of a New Day
By:  Tess


"SCULLY!!!"  Her head lifted at the distant sound of 
his muffled shout.  "Where is she?  Tell me where she is!"
A relieved smile spread across her face.  
Mulder would know what to do, she thought.  Rising from 
the place where she had been crouching near the door, 
Special Agent Monica Reyes made her way onto the porch 
on slightly shaky legs.  She could see him about thirty 
yards away through the cloud of dust being kicked up by 
the departing vehicles.  He was racing from car to car, 
peering into the windows.  His voice was hoarse with 
fear, as he demanded to know where Scully was.

"Mulder!" she called.  He spun toward her and ran the 
remaining few yards between them.

"How is she?" he asked urgently.  His features were 
tightly drawn and his voice shook slightly.

"She's inside," Monica told him.  "She needs to get to 
a hospital," she warned as she grabbed him by the arm.  
He was quiet, but she felt the muscles in his forearm 
tighten in reaction to her words.

Mulder entered the dimly lit cabin and his eyes 
immediately fell onto the day bed in the center of the 
room.  His heart stopped beating as his mind registered 
the bloodstained sheets of the now empty bed.  His eyes 
darted around the room desperately searching for her.  
He gasped and spun around when she spoke.

"Stay where you are."  Her voice was low and menacing.  
Mulder peered into the shadows and he saw her curled up 
against the rough-hewn wall of the cabin.  Relieved, he 
took a step toward her.

"Don't come any closer," she warned and he heard the 
distinctive snick of the safety slipping off of a gun.   
Staring closely, he saw that she was clutching a 
blanket-swaddled bundle in her left arm, while her 
right arm was raised, the gun in her hand pointed 
squarely at his head.  If he didn't know her so well, 
he would have missed the slight tremble in the hand 
aiming the gun his way.

"Scully," he said in a soothing voice.  "It's me."  He 
raised his hands to show her that he wasn't a threat 
and chanced another step toward her.

"Mulder?" she asked.  She cocked her head to one side 
and studied his face carefully.  He nodded and took a 
third step forward.  Scully allowed him to get closer 
but kept the gun pointed at him.  He watched her left 
arm tighten around the baby and she shifted her body 
slightly, putting herself between him and her child.

"It's me, Scully," he repeated.  "I'm not going to hurt 
you," he said.  His voice was low and husky - the tone 
he reserved for her and their most private moments 
together.  Hesitant recognition dawned in her eyes but 
she continued to adjust her aim as he drew closer and 
closer.  Finally, he stopped and knelt in front of her.  
He badly wanted to reach out and pull her and the baby 
into his arms, but he hadn't escaped death at Krycek's 
hand only to die now at hers.  Mulder settled onto the 
floor and crossed his legs in front of him.  Setting 
the palms of his hands onto the floor on either side of 
his body, he tried to be as non-threatening as 
possible.

Mulder had no idea what had transpired in the hours 
since he had handed Scully over into Krycek's care and 
he cursed himself for the thousandth time for letting 
her go on ahead without him.  It was the one lesson 
that neither of them - especially he - seemed capable 
of learning - that they were safest when they were 
together.  Even the reality of his abduction hadn't 
been enough to hammer that point home.  As he sat so 
close to her, he wondered if that knowledge didn't now 
come at too high a price.  Her skin was leeched of all 
color and her hair hung in sweaty hanks around her 
drawn and tired face.  The baby was quiet and 
hadn't moved once since Mulder had entered the cabin.  
He wondered on a swell of fear if the baby was even 
alive.

"Scully," he called and her body jerked at the sound of 
his voice calling her name.  "What happened here?" he 
asked, searching her face for answers.  He wanted to 
snatch her into his arms and carry her and the baby out 
of the dismal cabin and into the helicopter waiting 
outside, but first he had to find out what had happened 
and try to calm Scully down.  He immediately retracted 
that thought.  Scully was the picture of icy calm.  
What he had first mistaken for a fevered delirium was, 
upon closer inspection, an almost perfect control.  
Only someone who knew her as intimately as he would see 
the suppressed panic shadowing her eyes and the barely 
perceptible tremble in her hand. She was a new mother, 
fiercely protective of her child whose very existence 
had been threatened time and again.

Her grip on the gun shifted and she used it to gesture 
him closer.  Mulder scooted forward and kept his hands 
by his sides in full view at all times.

"Bend down," Scully ordered quietly.  Startled, 
Mulder's eyes flew up to hers.

"Bend down," she demanded again.  Puzzled, Mulder 
obeyed, bending at the waist and leaning forward.

"Lower," she said in a tightly controlled voice.  
Mulder pressed closer to the floor.  Unsure of what she 
wanted, he prayed that he had been right in judging the 
soundness of her mind.  He jumped when her hand closed 
over the back of his neck.  He lifted his eyes and saw 
the gun lying on the sheet wrapped around her legs, but 
he made no move to grab it from her.  Scully's fingers 
probed along the vertebrae that ran up into his neck 
and then she plunged her hand beneath the collar of his 
T-shirt, searching for something.

"Mulder."  Her body sagged forward over his bowed back 
and the fingers that had been roughly searching his 
flesh only seconds earlier turned caressing as she 
pulled him close.  Bewildered and relieved, Mulder 
surged up onto his knees and banded his arms tightly 
around her body as he pulled her and the baby into his 
embrace.

"Scully."  Her name escaped his lips on a ragged 
expulsion of breath.  Pulling back, he cupped her face 
in his hands and brushed the damp hair off of her cheeks.  
He was alarmed at the warmth of her skin under his 
palms and nose-to-nose, he became aware of the fevered 
brightness of her eyes.

"They wanted to take our son, Mulder," she moaned, her 
eyes breaking away from his face to look down at the 
bundle cradled in the curve of her arm.  Mulder's eyes 
flew downward and he reached out with trembling fingers 
to tug back the blanket shielding the child from his 
view.  The baby had yet to make a sound and Mulder's 
heart was in his throat as he peeled the blanket away 
from the infant's face.  Scully traced one finger over 
the baby's cheek and he snuffled softly and turned his 
face in the direction of her hand.  His lips smacked 
softly and his fingers flexed once, twice, before he 
settled back down into the protective circle of his 
mother's arm.

Mulder's breath caught and he lost his balance, falling 
back to sit on the floor with a thud.  Scully reached 
out for his hand, but a sound at the door had her 
snatching the gun back out of her lap and she raised it 
toward the newest threat.  Mulder scrambled to his 
knees and moved his body between the figure silhouetted 
in the doorway and his family.

"It's okay."  Monica Reyes stepped into the cabin and 
Mulder relaxed, slumping back onto the floor.  
Surprised, he saw that Scully still had the gun trained 
on the agent.

"Scully," he said as he put his hand on her and tried 
to push her arm down.  She shrugged off his restraining 
hand and continued to track Monica's careful movements 
into the cabin.

"It's alright, Mulder," Monica said.  "Dana has her 
reasons for being suspicious."  She stopped moving when 
she was about four feet away from the small family.  
Mulder's head swiveled between the two women, noting 
the calm look of understanding on Agent Reyes' face and 
the look of cool determination on Scully's.

"What reasons?" he asked and he felt the fear coil low 
in his belly again as he tried to figure out what 
threat Monica Reyes could possibly pose to Scully and 
their son.  Monica's eyes left Scully's face and slid 
toward his.

"I let them come in," she said softly as she glanced over 
her shoulder toward the now empty street.  Mulder's 
eyes narrowed and he cocked his head to one side as he 
waited for her to explain.

"Check the back of her neck, Mulder," Scully ordered in 
a hard voice.  Mulder's head whipped toward her in 
shock.  

"The back of her neck?" he asked in confusion.  What 
was he supposed to be looking for?  He remembered 
Scully's fingers probing the skin stretched tightly 
over his vertebrae.  A chip?  His head turned again and 
he studied the woman standing silently before him as he 
considered just what, if any, threat she represented.  His 
instincts were telling him that she was not a danger to 
him, Scully or the baby, but the coiled tension 
vibrating from Scully sent chills through his body.

"Agent Reyes?" he asked and the dark-haired woman 
nodded and knelt on the floor in front of him.  "What 
am I looking for?" he said, glancing back at Scully.  
Her eyes were locked on Monica's and she didn't answer.

"Scully?" Mulder asked again.  Monica's eyes slid from 
Scully's as she bent forward, lowering her head to the 
floor.

"The... the others had large bumps protruding beneath 
the skin along their spine," she said in a muffled 
voice.  "It's how we knew they were... they were..."

"Aliens," Mulder said in a flat voice.  Monica nodded 
and swept her hair to one side, baring the vulnerable 
nape of her neck to Mulder's gaze.  He reached out with 
a tentative hand and slid the tips of his fingers over 
her neck and then down under the collar of her shirt as 
Scully had done with him only minutes earlier.  He 
could find nothing unusual.  His fingertips probed and 
traced over the delicate bumps of her spinal cord 
hidden beneath the pale, soft skin.  He pulled his hand 
from under her collar and touched his fingers to her 
shoulder.  Monica raised her head slowly and she and 
Mulder both looked at Scully.

"I didn't feel anything unusual," Mulder told Scully.  
"Do you want to check for yourself?" he asked.  Scully 
chewed her lip for a moment before shaking her head.  
She lowered the gun to her lap again and blew out the 
breath she had been holding.  She lifted the baby with 
both arms and buried her face in his blanket.  Raising 
her head, she looked at Monica, and then turned to 
Mulder.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.  "I'm so... so sorry," she 
said as she rocked back and forth.  Mulder smoothed his 
hand over her hair and Monica shook her head.

"You were protecting your child," she smiled.  "You 
have nothing to apologize for."  She tilted her head to 
the side and gazed fiercely into Scully's eyes.  
"Nothing," she repeated.  Scully nodded and knuckled a 
stray tear from the corner of her eyes.

"Okay," she said on a shaky breath.  "Okay."  Monica 
turned away from Scully and leaned down to Mulder.

"The chopper is waiting," she reminded him.  "We need 
to get them to a hospital."  Mulder squatted next to 
Scully and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Let's get out of here," he said.  "Can you stand?"  
Scully adjusted the blanket around the baby and nodded.  
She looped one arm around Mulder's neck and pushed 
herself to her feet.  The room spun dizzily around her 
and she would have fallen if not for Mulder.  Her grip 
on the baby slipped and she cried out in fear but 
Monica reached out and steadied him.

"Give the baby to Monica," Mulder said.  Scully shook 
her head and clutched the baby tightly.  The infant gave 
a tiny cry, protesting the strength of his mother's 
embrace and she lowered her lips, whispering a litany 
of apologies into his ear.  Monica held out her arms.

"I'll be very careful with him," she said gently.  
Scully looked down at the tiny boy in her arms, 
reluctant to turn him over into the other woman's care.  
With the exception of his father, she didn't completely 
trust anyone with her child.

"I'll walk right beside you, so he's never out of your 
sight," the other agent promised, understanding 
Scully's hesitance.  Mulder's lips slid over Scully's 
ear and his breath was soft and warm as he spoke.

"It'll be okay, Scully," he whispered.  "Give him to
Monica so that I can get both of you onto the 
helicopter."  He squeezed his arm around her 
encouragingly.  "We need to get out of here."  Scully 
nodded quickly and handed the baby into Monica's arms.

"Hey there, sweetheart," the dark-haired woman cooed.  
"You've had quite a night, haven't you?"  Monica waited 
while Mulder lifted Scully into his arms.  Arms filled 
with their precious burdens, the two hurried toward the 
waiting helicopter.  The bright lights of the 
helicopter momentarily blinded Scully and she squinted 
into the surrounding darkness, alert for any sign of 
danger.  

Monica climbed into the helicopter and watched as the 
pilot helped Mulder settle Scully into one of the back 
seats.  Mulder squatted next to her and tenderly 
fastened the seatbelt around her.  As soon as she was 
safely buckled into the seat, Scully held her arms out.

"My baby," she said quietly.  Mulder took the child and 
sat down next to Scully.  She reached out with eager 
hands and reclaimed the baby.

"Everyone buckled in?" the pilot asked as he flipped 
the switches to send the powerful overhead blades 
spinning.  His passengers nodded and he spoke into the 
microphone attached to the headset as he called ahead 
to the nearest hospital to alert them to their arrival.

In the back of the helicopter, Mulder reached out 
hesitantly to touch the baby's cheek.  

"Do you want to hold him?" Scully asked as she lifted a 
tired face to his.  Mulder shook his head and instead 
began to peel away the blankets that were hiding his 
son from him.  Scully shifted and held the baby closer 
for Mulder's inspection.  He drew one long finger down 
the center of the infant's chest, stopping just above the 
place where the umbilical cord was tied off.  He lifted 
one of the little boy's hands and was astounded by the 
tiny fingers that gripped his.

"He's beautiful," Mulder whispered as he lifted damp 
eyes to Scully's.  She smiled and leaned her head on 
his shoulder.

"Like his father," she said.

*********  

She was pacing the length of the waiting room, counting 
the tiles in the floor and dying for a cigarette when 
she heard her name being called.

"Monica!"  She looked up to see John Doggett and A.D. 
Skinner hurrying from the bank of elevators at the 
other end of the hall.  She smoothed her hands over the 
pale blue hospital scrubs that she had changed into, 
after taking a shower and discarding the clothing that 
had been stained with blood and other birth fluids.  
She smiled and walked over to greet the men.

"Is everything okay?" John asked, clutching one of her 
hands in his.  Monica grinned happily and squeezed his 
fingers tightly.

"Mother and baby are well," she declared proudly.  
"Scully has a little bit of a fever and she's going to 
need to stay off her feet for a few days, but other 
than that she's fine," Monica told them.

"And the baby?" Skinner asked eagerly.  Monica looked 
up and her grin grew even bigger.

"Seven pounds, three ounces," she told him.  "He's 
absolutely gorgeous!" she said emphatically.  Skinner 
laughed and clapped his hand on Doggett's back.  John 
smiled and then squeezed Monica's hand again, drawing 
her attention back to him.

"Truth time," he said solemnly.  He stared deeply into 
her dark eyes.  "How bad was it out there?" he asked.  
Monica drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.  
The bright sparkle in her eyes dimmed for a moment and 
her fingers trembled.

"Not right now," she said, patting his hand.  "We've 
got plenty of time to talk about it later," she told 
him.  Her soft, sad smile widened until it was a full-
fledged grin again.  

"Come on," she said.  "Let's go see the happy family."  
She led the two men down the hall and stopped outside 
of one of the rooms.  She quietly opened the door and 
poked her head inside.  Turning, she laid her finger 
over her lips and gestured for John and Skinner to 
follow her inside.  

Mulder looked up and smiled, waving them closer.  John 
and Skinner crept quietly across the room.  Mulder had 
climbed into the bed next to Scully who was curled on 
her side, soundly sleeping.  The cheerfully decorated 
room was softly lit with the early morning sunlight 
streaming through the window.  Mulder shifted the tiny 
bundle in his arms and pulled back the blanket to 
reveal his newborn son to their visitors.

Skinner reached out and tentatively brushed his fingers 
over the wisps of dark red hair curling on the baby's 
head.  "He's beautiful, Mulder," the older man declared 
quietly.  Mulder grinned and nodded happily.  

"Thank you, Sir."  He stroked his thumb over the baby's 
chest and looked up.  "He's a keeper."

John held out his hand and Mulder shook it 
companionably.  "Congratulations, Mulder."  He glanced 
toward the woman sleeping peacefully in the hospital 
bed.  "How is she?" he asked, nodding toward Scully.

Mulder glanced down and stroked the fingers of one hand 
over her hair.  "She lost some blood," he began and 
shook his head quickly when he saw the alarmed look in 
both men's eyes.  "We got her here in time," he told 
them and Doggett scrubbed his hand over his eyes while 
Skinner's shoulders sagged with relief.  

"But she has a low fever and the doctors want to keep 
her for a few days," he said and his tone indicated 
that he was more than happy to have Scully in a place 
where she would be forced to stay off her feet for a 
couple of days.  "Her mother is coming down later 
today," he said in a soft voice.  "That should keep her 
in line for a little while," he said on a quiet laugh.  
The four adults shared a grin as the baby suddenly 
stretched before settling back down against his 
father's chest.

Scully stirred and moved closer to Mulder, her hand 
instinctively lifting toward her child.  She raised 
heavy lashes and Mulder again stroked his hand over her 
hair.

"Go back to sleep, Scully," he said softly.  She nodded 
sleepily and nestled her cheek back into the pillow, 
unaware of their visitors.  When her breathing had once 
again grown slow and steady, Monica stepped forward and 
touched Skinner and John on the arms.

"We should go," she suggested.  Both men nodded and 
began to shuffle across the room.

"Hey," Mulder called out as they reached the door.  The 
three federal officers turned back toward the bed.  
Mulder glanced down into Scully's peaceful face and 
then lingered on his son's wide-eyed stare before 
looking back up.

"Thank you," he shrugged.  Skinner cleared his throat 
and nodded while Doggett studied the tips of his shoes, 
an embarrassed flush staining his cheeks.  Monica 
rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You're very welcome," she smiled.  Mulder grinned 
back.

"You should go and get some sleep too," he suggested.  
Monica nodded and followed the two men into the hall, 
pulling the door closed behind her.

In the quiet room, Mulder turned onto his side and 
settled the now sleeping baby onto the bed between him 
and Scully.  In the light of a new day, he wrapped his 
arms around them both and watched his family sleep.


The End

Author's notes: Yeah, I know.  I'm greedy.  I loved the 
final scene of Existence, what right-minded shipper 
didn't?  But I wanted more.  I wanted that scene where 
Mulder first laid eyes on Scully and William.

Thanks to the gang at IWTB and the Sisters for getting 
me through a panic-filled pre-finale week and for being 
there while I did my happy little dance of joy!

And special thanks as always to Aly - archivist 
extraordinaire and to Char for her good counsel and 
because, quite frankly, she's become the dearest of 
friends to me.

You can read this and all the other XF stories I've 
written at: http://tessfiles.envy.nu

Feedback gratefully slobbered over at tnv099@aol.com